Choosing Riley

  “Don’t even go there, Riley St. Claire! You will not think of his stupid you-know-what!” She muttered under her breath as she worked herself up into a fine fury. “It is time for them to get their asses off this rock so I can find me my own spaceship heading back home.”

  Riley slammed the drawer shut and walked over to her bright pink suitcase. She tucked the strap of her oversized purse over one shoulder, grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase with the other, and gripped the pistol she had found firmly in her right hand. It was time to liberate the prisoners of this stupid mine! Riley raised her hand, tossed the massive wave of blond curls over her shoulder and marched out the door, laser pistol blazing at anything that moved.

  *.*.*

  Vox cursed as he worked beside not just Tor, Lodar, Bob, and Fred but alongside Titus and the others as well. They had been rounded up earlier than usual and marched to a different part of the mine than they had worked in before. Vox had known something was wrong immediately. First, the guards had refused to let Bob go back up to be with Riley. Second, they had been rounded up not only early but not given the normal tools for work. Finally, he knew they were going to be terminated when he saw the others already waiting for him and his men. All their carefully laid plans were worthless in the face of the twenty Antrox guards surrounding them. The only thing that gave them half a chance was the fact their collars were deactivated.

  Vox dropped the large rock he had picked up when he saw Antrox 157 walking toward the group. He flexed his shoulders as rage poured through him. He was going to kill every one of the damn insects on this asteroid and then he was going to kill him a Valdier royal. Vox’s eyes narrowed on the smug expression of the normally passive face of the Antrox.

  “Where is my mate?” Vox growled out menacingly.

  157 raised his hand to stop the guards who took a step toward Vox with their stunning rods raised. 157 looked Vox up and down with a look of pure enjoyment. He was looking forward to explaining exactly what would happen to the Sarafin King’s mate.

  “She is in the process of being acclimated to her new position. She is an unusual species and I was fortunate enough to acquire a large sum of credits for her. She will not be quite so demanding in her new position but I am sure she will be in quite a lot of demand,” 157 said, actually snorting at his own joke.

  “What have you done with her?” Vox demanded tensely.

  He would rip the Antrox apart, limb by limb, if one curly, blond hair on Riley’s head had been touched. He would slowly gut the slimy bastard and listen as he begged for his miserable life. Then he would shove the credits the creature loved so much down his throat and watch him choke to death on them.

  “She has been sold to a trader who supplies for the pleasure houses on the Grigillian Spaceport. It was decided if she could handle three huge Sarafin warriors and those two, she could handle even more. The trader has assured me she will bring prime credits,” 157 added gleefully, his eyes glowing with greed at the idea of the number of credits he would shortly be receiving.

  Lodar and Tor reached out and grabbed Vox by the arms when he roared out in rage. “You’ll never live to see those credits, you miserable insect. I am going to rip off your fucking head and shove it up your ass,” Vox snarled fighting as Titus, Banu, and the others moved to help restrain him.

  “No, you will be dead,” 157 said with a smug smile. “That is where my other credits will come from. If it was not that I am a businessman, I would have offered to kill you for free. But, I am a businessman first. Your lives have been terminated per the Valdier royal Raffvin Reykill.”

  Vox felt the change sweep over him as the others tried to get him to calm down. He watched even as his vision began to change as Antrox 157 lifted a long slender palm for the device that would kill them all. The Antrox was so focused on pressing the button on the device in his hand that he did not pay attention to the ripple of fur running up and over Vox’s arms, chest, and shoulders. He didn’t notice Vox’s face as his teeth began to elongate and his facial features shifted and transformed into that of the power cat that he was. It was only when 157 glanced up with a look that changed from triumph to horror in one heartbeat to the next as he pressed the button and nothing happened that he realized all was not as it should be.

  157 pushed back, grabbing the guards around him and shoving them in front of him even as he screamed for them to use the stunning rods to hold the males back. It was too late. Vox was already clamping down on the skull of one guard while Tor, Lodar, Titus, and Banu did the same. Adur spun around grabbing one of the long stunning rods and began using it just as Cross shifted into his dragon form and blew a long stream of condensed blue flames at the retreating figure of 157 and several of his guards.

  Vox spit out the remains of another guard just as the alarms began blaring. He quickly shifted back into his two-legged form, turning in a confused circle for a moment as the red lights swirled around him. Loud shouts, followed by screams could be heard in the distance.

  “What in the Guall’s balls is going on?” He snarled out turning to look at Titus and Banu.

  “That is the emergency release system. It deactivates all the systems, including the collars,” Titus said in shock. “Do you think our people found us?”

  “Or perhaps the Valdier Lords?” Cross said hopefully.

  “Hello. Can everyone hear me? Hel….lo! Vox, Tor, Lodar?” Riley’s husky voice came over the sound system. “Damn it! How do you turn the alarms off? The damn things are giving me a headache. Oh no you don’t, you nasty little insect!”

  Vox jerked when he heard the loud sound of a laser pistol firing. “Riley?” He whispered hoarsely before his voice faded again in shock.

  “Take that you son-of-a-bitch! Who’s your momma now, asshole?” Riley crowed into the communication’s mic. “Fred, Bob honey, if you can hear me I have all the doors open. I have to tell you, you’d better hurry. Those spaceship thingies are really flying out of here fast. I don’t know if there are going to be any left if you don’t get your asses up here now. Uh oh, I don’t think those two know how to drive one. Oops, nope. They didn’t.”

  Tor shuddered as the loud sound of screeching could be heard followed by an explosion. “She must be in the control room. Let’s get out of here!”

  Vox didn’t wait for his second-in-command to repeat himself. He turned and took off as fast as he could. He could hear Fred encouraging Bob to hurry. The little Tiliquian could keep up with them but the Gelatian were not known for their speed. Vox yelled out a tense order for Banu and Cross to stay with Bob. The two warriors nodded, falling back to cover the large male who was struggling to follow them.

  “Go,” Bob groaned out. “Go, I will remain here.”

  “We have our orders, my friend,” Cross laughed as he swung around to watch as a group of Antrox tried to escape several former prisoners who were not in the mood to let them go. “Besides, something tells me if you are not on board the spaceship there is no way in Gods that we will get the female on board it.”

  Bob thought of Riley’s beautiful sad eyes last night and knew she didn’t plan on being on the same ship that they were on. His huge body shuddered as determination swept through him. She was a remarkable female! She had chosen him even though she didn’t have to. She had befriended him and cared for him when even the females of his own species wouldn’t have thought twice about casting him aside for a stronger male. And, she had set not just him and her other mates free but every prisoner on the mining asteroid. If she could fight for what she wanted, could he do any less for her?

  “I have a mate to get out of here,” Bob mumbled out, picking up speed ever so slightly.

  The sound of an automated voice suddenly sounded around them. “Self-destruct has been activated. Countdown is set for ten-point-two-nine and counting. Evacuation of all personnel is recommended immediately.”

  “Then, I suggest we do not let her wait, my big green warrior,” chuckled Banu. “Onward to freedom before she
kills us all.”

  Chapter 8

  Riley shot two guards the minute she exited the medical unit. The leathery, red skinned healer had been coming down the corridor from the control room. The second he saw her shooting, he turned his wacky self around so fast he actually fell down. Riley took off as fast as she could, pulling her big, pink suitcase and shot his ass as he was entering the control room. She had quickly disposed of him and the three guards inside. Normally she would have had second thoughts about killing anything. Hell, she was known for rescuing and nursing the injured lizards back home before releasing them back into the wild. Since she had never had to save a praying mantis before, she decided those miserable creatures didn’t count and the healer was just too freaky to let live. Those thoughts helped ease her conscious so she could concentrate on trying to figure out what in the hell to do next.

  “One of these days, girl,” she muttered out loud to herself. “You are going to have an actual plan before you start shooting.”

  Riley’s nose turned up in disgust as she shoved the last of the dead bodies outside the door. There were some things she could handle, being in a room with dead guys was not one of them. She cursed again when she couldn’t figure out how to close the door to the room so she stood back and shot the panel out. Her loud moans filled the air when instead of closing, it remained frozen opened.

  “Oh for crying out loud!” She groaned in frustration. “It worked in the movies, damn it all to hell!” There was nothing she could do about the door except shoot anything that tried to come through it now.

  She turned and looked at all the lights flashing on the console with a confused frown. Glancing out the huge section of windows that overlooked two separate landing bays divided by a huge wall of rock, she figured she could at least watch as her guys took off. Since she couldn’t see them down there yet she figured they might need a little help. She had absolutely no idea what to do but figured if she started pushing enough buttons something was bound to work sooner or later.

  “Well, I told them I was great at causing a distraction,” she muttered darkly as she began pushing as many buttons as fast as she could. “Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have pushed that one,” she whispered under her breath when the lights flashed on and off in the landing bay.

  Riley pushed another button and realized she could hear herself breathing over the PA system. She could warn the guys they needed to get their asses up here toot sweet if they wanted a spaceship. At the rate the other prisoners were leaving, they were going fast.

  “Hello. Can everyone hear me? Hell…. lo! Vox, Tor, Lodar?” She called out hoping they could hear her over the stupid alarms that had gone off when she was pushing buttons. Unfortunately, she couldn’t figure out how to turn them off. “Damn it! How do you turn the alarms off? The damn things are giving me a headache.” She muttered before she turned to see one of the Antrox guards trying to sneak up behind her. “Oh no you don’t, you nasty little insect!”

  Riley let loose with several shots adding to the growing pile of dead bodies. “Take that you son-of-a-bitch! Who’s your momma now, asshole?” Riley crowed before she realized she still had the communication system open. “Fred, Bob honey, if you can hear me I have all the doors open. I have to tell you. You’d better hurry. Those spaceship thingies are really flying out of here fast. I don’t know if there are going to be any left if you don’t get your asses up here now. Uh oh, I don’t think those two know how to drive one. Oops, nope. They didn’t.” She croaked out as she watched the dark night of space light up as two departing ships exploded.

  *.*.*

  Several Antrox guards turned startled and looked up at the control room as the lights in the landing bay flashed on and off. Antrox 785 looked up in disbelief when he saw the strange female standing at the controls instead of his men. Riley glanced down at him at the same time as he turned all the way around to stare in disbelief. Antrox 785 watched as if in slow motion as she gave him a huge smile and raised her hand, her middle finger pointing straight up, before blowing him a kiss. He could feel the deep flush of shock and outrage that his mining operation was no longer under his control.

  “Get me the guards on Level 5,” he growled out at the same time as the alarms sounded stating all systems had been deactivated. “Wait!” He ordered sharply. “On second thought, get my personal ship ready immediately. It is time I retired,” he muttered to his personal guards.

  “Antrox 785, what of the others?” His guard asked stiffly.

  “The prisoners have been released,” Antrox 785 stated coolly, looking at the guard. “Do you wish to search for the others?”

  The guard looked back up at the female in the control room who was currently firing a laser pistol at someone. He looked back at Antrox 785 and bowed his head. Turning, the small group hurried to one of the tubes leading up to Antrox 785’s personal space craft.

  Antrox 785 turned before he walked up to the tube to look one last time at the strange female who had brought an end to his sixty years of profit. Luckily, he had always known that something like this could happen and had prepared for it. He shook his head as he turned to follow his guards. He really would have liked to have killed the trader that brought her here first; before he retired. A small smile curved his thin lips as he thought about how much Antrox 157 wanted to be promoted. He hoped he enjoyed his new position.

  *.*.*

  Riley screamed as two more guards fell. This time not from her but from one of the escaped prisoners who decided he wanted to take her with him. She raised her arm and fired on the huge orange man again. He grunted but continued to creep toward her even though he was bleeding from several places including where she had just shot him in the shoulder.

  “Oh for crying out loud!” Riley snarled as she aimed the pistol between his eyes. “Will you just fucking die already!” She snapped out as she fired again. The huge orange figured flew backwards landing on the growing pile of bodies outside the door. This time, he didn’t get back up.

  Who the hell needs a door when I can just make one out of dead bodies, she thought in disgust.

  Riley turned to slam her hand down on the last button in frustration and anger. This one had been hidden under a huge clear lid. The little nagging thought in her head that maybe it was covered for a reason didn’t go off until the voice of the automated system announced that the self-destruct had been activated.

  “Well Shit-a-Brick!” Riley groaned in despair.

  Tears filled her eyes as she watched as another spaceship departed. There was only one left and it looked like it had been left behind for a reason. She wasn’t even sure if it could fly. Her hand pressed against the glass, her fingers spread as she watched Cross, Banu, Bob, and Fred hurrying across the landing bay toward the last spaceship. A moment later, she saw Adur and Titus making their way up the tube as well. She must have missed Vox, Tor, and Lodar. She was sure they had already escaped in all the confusion.

  “Good luck, my strange friends,” Riley whispered sadly as she watched them disappear. “I’m glad you are getting away.”

  She pulled away from the glass. The sounds in the background of the countdown seemed to match her heartbeat. Riley stepped away pulling her purse and big, pink suitcase with her as she moved over to the wall where she slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and smoothed her huge purse down against her side.

  Riley rolled the laser pistol in her hands absently before taking a deep breath. She wasn’t going to wait until the place exploded around her. If she was going to die, it wasn’t going to be by having her head explode from decompressing in space. No, she would take her own life in the last few seconds. A quick blast to the heart and she wouldn’t feel the dark emptiness that would become her tomb.

  “Hell Riley girl,” she whispered as tears coursed down her cheeks. “You are really getting morbid. At least it is better than being buried in concrete under the shed in Righteous, New Mexico,” she giggled on the verge of hy
steria. “Here floats the body of Riley St. Claire from Denver, Colorado. She forgot that the self-destruct button is always covered, the idiot! So much for twenty-four years of good B-rated movies. This totally sucks!” Riley groaned as she pulled the pistol so it was pressed tightly against her chest. “I can’t believe with my family history that I am probably the only female in the history of the St. Claire’s to die a frigging virgin!” She sniffled sadly.

  She closed her eyes and drew in a shuddering sob. She could do this, just don’t think about it. Instead, she thought about the things that brought a warmth to her heart and calmed her. Images shimmered into her mind as she thought back to the things that really mattered to her. A wobbly smile curved her lips as she remembered her Grandma Pearl laughing as she listened to Riley telling her about her latest retorts to the bullies at school while her Grandma wiped down the counter at the bar. She thought about her sainted sister Tina rolling her big blue eyes at her when their Grandma got called to school again because of Riley fighting or mouthing off. She thought of Vox’s beautiful tawny eyes glaring at her with hot desire as he tried to get her to rest instead of working alongside them down in the mines. Her body began to shake uncontrollably as her finger tightened on the trigger before she jerked in shock as pain exploded through her.

  I didn’t think dying would hurt so much, she thought as the breath exploded out of her.

  *.*.*

  Vox let out another loud snarl as he slashed at anything in his way. Tor and Lodar were right beside him clearing a path. He didn’t care who it was. If they were in the way, they were dead. His only thought was to get to Riley. His mate, his everything. How he ever thought he could kill her if he had to made him realize just how stupid he really was. The thought of her being in danger was enough to drive him insane. He would have never been able to kill her. He would have had to lock her up somewhere if she had been a spy. Hell, he might do that anyway after this crazy stunt of hers. He was damn sure going to whip her delicious ass for scaring him so badly.